Refresher on Vertigo

Tuesday, May 15, 2018 7:42:15 AM Australia/Melbourne

Once a month, the Hearlink team aims to share an article with a specific focus – balance and hearing loss. The two are far more tightly intertwined than you may think. In fact, that’s a good reminder that many of our health inflictions and adventures are dependent on each other. There is in fact good reason that your annual appointments with you doctor are so comprehensive. They want to check on each function of your body, ensure that it’s firing on all cylinders and identify any gaps where there might be issues later on down the road. A big one that the Hearlink team is obviously passionate about is the aforementioned link between balance and hearing loss and that’s what we’re diving into today.

If you’re newer to the Hearlink blog, welcome! We’re so excited to have you here. We’re leaders in the audiology and hearing loss industries and we love to impart whatever wisdom we learn, to you! We firmly believe, and our ethos is rooted, in the idea that when you’re empowered with knowledge, you’re better educated to make smart decisions about your health, including your hearing. So today, let’s refresh on a common result of balance loss and hearing loss – vertigo.

We’ve made the joke previously that vertigo isn’t just a song by the band U2. In fact, vertigo can be a pretty deprecating situation. It’s the source of dizzy spells, spinning and the idea that the whole world is spinning around you. It’s not normally assumed or understood that vertigo is actually caused by issues inside of the ear. There are a couple of different scapegoats though. These include BPPV, which stands for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. While calcium is normally a good thing for your bones, in this situation the particles assemble inside of the inner ear, creating a major issue for pathways to the brain. While this affliction may be associated with age, it can also be associated with a myriad of other situations as well.

The other common cause of vertigo is Meniere’s Disease, which we’ve discussed before but bears reiterating. It’s a disease of the inner ear, but this one is due to a build-up of fluid and if you have changing pressure in the environment of your ear. Meniere’s can provide a one-two punch, because you don’t just deal with vertigo, you also deal with tinnitus and pronounced hearing loss.

Finally, keep an eye out for labyrinthitis. Again, this is an inner ear challenge, normally viral, and can be related to infection. This doesn’t close the door on other causes. These include neck and head injuries, strokes and tumours or even medications that can cause ear damage.

The bottom line with any of these is that you should march right into your specialist’s office or reach out to the Hearlink team. We’re educated with all of the above and more and can be great resources on-hand should you have any questions. We’re available all hours of every day via different channels like email or phone. Don’t hesitate to reach out!

Hearlink Admin

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At HEARLINK we are committed to helping people hear the beauty of sound again. Our hearing care experts use best practices and state-of-the-art equipment in the evaluation of hearing impairment. We are a dedicated team of Audiologists, technicians and receptionists in the provision of hearing care.